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| Hiking | 13.26 Miles |
754 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.26 Miles | 5 Hrs 28 Mns | | 2.44 mph |
| 754 ft AEG | 2 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | With the ridiculously hot record breaking temps in the valley, we headed up to the rim to get some miles in. Was glad that J suggested this, as I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about the drive for the option I had been eyeing. Headed out, with hardly any traffic of note. Had a couple slowdowns on 87 - the first for a small herd of elk that opted to linger as they crossed, and the second for some chipsealing being done on a long stretch where the road was down to single lane with flagger and pilot car control.
Made it to our parking spot off FR82 without any difficulty and started through the gate with a gentle climb. The initial section was a bit rocky and uneven with tons of animal prints in the trail, made when there was a lot more moisture in the ground. Plenty of elk prints, some coyote, and likely some cat prints also. Between the rocks, print-laden tread, and pinecones, the walking required paying attention to foot placement - and even so, I still managed to trip myself up a couple times.
Eventually, things smooth out and the walking becomes easier, with the tread meandering through mixed pine, juniper, and oaks with occasional prickly pear and desert star cactus. We made good time with brief stops at the tanks along the way. While there is water in the tanks, they all look muddy and silt laden - even the extremely large homestead tank looked a bit murky to my eye - though there were plenty of frogs singing and several ducks enjoying the day. After reaching Foot in Tree Tank (I did not spy any semblance of a foot in any nearby tree so kind of curious as to how that name came about) we decided to continue onward for a bit - I'm glad we did since not long afterward we came across a large herd of elk with a bull. As we quietly approached along the trail, they caught sight of us and dashed off. We decided to leave the trail and see if we could sight them again, but alas, we didn't have any luck. After wandering the hillside searching for a bit, we decided to turn back.
Other people: 1 mountain biker at a point where the trail crosses a road.
Wildlife: In addition to the herd of elk, we saw a number of butterflies, several lizards, some ducks, and and heard songs from frogs and various birds.
It was nice to get out of the heat - the walking was a little warm when we lost the breeze and were in direct sun. As we drove out, the car looked to be registering temps in the mid 70s, though my temperature sensor registered a much higher temp - I don't think it was in direct sunlight, and I certainly didn't expect my pack to get much warmer than the ambient temps, but I suppose it's possible - ah technology  . |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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Homestead Tank |
76-100% full |
76-100% full |
| | extremely large "tank"
Plenty of frogs singing and several ducks enjoying the solitude. |
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Waldroup Tank |
Dry |
Dry |
| | | there was another tank just ahead of Waldroup as we hiked in that had some water in it. | | _____________________
Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
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